Ariana Grande: A Growing Pop Legend
Ariana Grande was one of the top artists in the second half of the 2010s, capturing the era’s spirit and style. She emerged in 2013 with the hit single “The Way”, which showed her powerhouse vocals, compared to the likes of Mariah Carey. Continuing to grow through collaborations such as “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea, and “Bang Bang” featuring Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, and the Weekend; her popularity steadily rose after releasing three albums: “Dangerous Women”, “Sweetener”, and “Thank U Next”, whose title track became the number one pop hit along with “7 Rings”.
Ariana started singing when she was three years old, auditioning as an actor/singer. She played the character “Annie” , and was involved in other musicals such as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Beauty and the Beast” at the children’s theater in Fort Lauderdale. She sang for orchestras such as South Florida’s Philharmonic, Florida Sunshine Pops, and Symphonic Orchestras, and debuted on national television with the United States anthem for the Florida Panthers. At the age of 13, she auditioned for the musical “13” as the character Charlotte, managing to win the National Youth Theater Association Awards for best supporting actress, recognizing her excellent performance in the musical.
Later, Ariana Grande auditioned for the Nickelodeon series, “Victorious” playing the girl of Cat Valentine. After finishing recording the first season of Victorious, she wanted to focus more on music and started working on her first album. She worked with vocal coach Eric Vetro and showed recordings of her playing songs by Adele, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey on YouTube. This caught the interest of Monte Lipman, director general of Republic Records, getting her to sign a deal with his record label.
In December of 2010, she released her debut single “Put Your Hearts Up” which she disliked because of the bubblegum pop sound, not wanting to record music of that genre. Meanwhile, she would continue her acting career as a voice actor, playing Princess Diaspro in “Winx Club”, and reprising her role as Cat Valentine in “Sam & Cat”.
On November 17, 2012, Ariana Grande released her first album titled “Yours Truly”, which became first on the Billboard 200 Chart due to the 138 thousand copies sold in its first week. She became the fifteenth female artist in history of the music industry to achieve this positioning.
On March 26, 2013, she released the first single of her debut album titled “The Way” featuring Mac Miller, which charted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as earned several certified platinum records in the US. She published her second album titled “My Everything” on August 25, 2014, which charted again No.1 on Billboard 200. The single “Problem” became the most successful single from the album, winning many certifications and platinum albums.
Ariana appeared at the Grammy Awards 2015 after receiving two nominations, paying tribute to Stevie Wonders. Grande released her third album “Dangerous Woman” in May 2016, with the album’s title track hitting No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released in March, making her the first artist to chart in the Top 10 in the Billboard Hot 100 with her first 3 albums.
In April 2018, Grande released her fourth album “Sweetner” with the single “No Tears Left to Cry”, which debuted at number three on the Hot 100. When it was released in August 2018, the album debuted number one on US and UK Billboard 200. As if she couldn’t break any more records, in February 2019, Ariana Grande released the full length album “Thank U, Next”, with the title track of the same name, shooting No.1 on music charts all around the world and making it No.1 on the Billboard 200 as well. She received five Grammy nominations: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album for “Thank U Next”, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "7 Rings," and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Boyfriend."
Despite the new decade, Grande’s popularity has done anything but dwindle. This year, she has done collaborations with artists such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, which charted No.1 on the Hot 100, continuing her spans of No.1 debut hits. She also donated to the First Responders Children’s Foundation in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic with sales of the song “Stuck With U” and advocated for social justice reform in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Just last October, she released her sixth studio album “Positions” with the lead single giving Grande her fifth number 1 Hot 100 debut. With so many awards, records, and hits, Ariana Grande has truly become - and will continue to be - a pop legend of the 21st century.
